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Fiona Fitzgerald Mysteries #2
American Sextet
Fiona Fitzgerald Mystery #2 : A beautiful young woman dressed in white is found at the bottom of the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge. Was it a suicide or murder? Fiona Fitzgerald, possessed by a painful personal dilemma, is determined to find out, even if her demons might drive her from the police force. As Fiona goes deeper into the fire, a sexual conspiracy is uncovered involving six men from the highest offices in the country - a great American Sextet!
364 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
7 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Warren Adler
79 books113 followersWarren Adler was an American author, playwright and poet. His novel The War of the Roses was turned into a dark comedy starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.
Adler was an essayist, short-story writer, poet and playwright, whose works have been translated into 25 languages.
Adler was an essayist, short-story writer, poet and playwright, whose works have been translated into 25 languages.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 26, 2010
This was a very good book until the end of the story, just like the other Fiona Fitzgerald novel. The author portrays the criminal so cunning and smart only to be outdone in the last few pages by Fiona, yes the cops are supposed to get the bad guys but Mr. Adler needs to slow down and how the case was cracked. He goes from the cops knowing nothing to solving the case in literally the last 3 to 5 pages of the book. This is still a good read to anyone who likes female detectives stories and I am one of those people.
March 20, 2024
I found this series and I am binge listening to it. It was written a while ago so it there is a lot to do with race in here. I am enjoying listening and learning about the different culture in Washington. I found it very well narrated and I went straight onto another book in the series. I hadn't listened to book 1 but I don't think that really mattered.
June 6, 2020
Fiona is portrayed as very human, with a lot of doubts. She also knows the political side in her job, and dealing with them. Well written and enjoyed. Narration was good given audio for my voluntary review and my honest opinion
September 15, 2014
Fiona Fitzgerald — star in a series of mystery novels and a soon to be TV series — is a woman of our times. She has her doubts about her job as a homicide detective, her colleagues, her boss, herself and Washington politics. That makes her an attractive lead in the novels of veteran author Warren Adler, who has created a fine Washington setting for her and some gritty murders to deal with. Fiona knows the capitol inside out and this lands her many important cases to deal with; unfortunately that also means that she has to face many members of the political elite under uncomfortable circumstances.
As in all Fiona Fitzgerald novels, in “American Sextet” Adler sketches the capitol and its inhabitants with skill and obvious inside knowledge — as a sidestep I like to refer to “Banquet Before Dawn” and “The Henderson Equation“, two of his mainstream novels that also take part in Washington and demonstrate the same skill in a different context. Next to Fiona’s charming, real character I find this Washington DC setting another major attraction. This is not just ‘some’ city, this is ‘it’, this is the place of power. And, as we all know, with power comes abuse.
As far as the story is concerned, I found “American Sextet” ingenuous and original. The end was more than appropriate, it was also cleverly found. A crossroads of politics, crime, justice and personal vendetta.
Perhaps this is the special talent if Warren Adler, to add something to a crime story that makes something more out of it. There’s a completeness to this Fiona Fitzgerald that I find rare in this genre. Not only are we involved in the crime, but we also get a relevant look into Fiona’s private life – a life that’s far from uncomplicated by the way. These private matters have a habit of intruding on the story, which is another typical talent of this author: he creates real people and he does this with honesty. Fiona Fitzgerald is a young woman in a male police force, she’s also a minority with a biological clock to be exact, and Adler doesn’t try to go around that – he makes it part of the story. And then, right when you think it’s just a sidestep, he merges everything back together again, like an unexpected fist in your face. See what you think.
As in all Fiona Fitzgerald novels, in “American Sextet” Adler sketches the capitol and its inhabitants with skill and obvious inside knowledge — as a sidestep I like to refer to “Banquet Before Dawn” and “The Henderson Equation“, two of his mainstream novels that also take part in Washington and demonstrate the same skill in a different context. Next to Fiona’s charming, real character I find this Washington DC setting another major attraction. This is not just ‘some’ city, this is ‘it’, this is the place of power. And, as we all know, with power comes abuse.
As far as the story is concerned, I found “American Sextet” ingenuous and original. The end was more than appropriate, it was also cleverly found. A crossroads of politics, crime, justice and personal vendetta.
Perhaps this is the special talent if Warren Adler, to add something to a crime story that makes something more out of it. There’s a completeness to this Fiona Fitzgerald that I find rare in this genre. Not only are we involved in the crime, but we also get a relevant look into Fiona’s private life – a life that’s far from uncomplicated by the way. These private matters have a habit of intruding on the story, which is another typical talent of this author: he creates real people and he does this with honesty. Fiona Fitzgerald is a young woman in a male police force, she’s also a minority with a biological clock to be exact, and Adler doesn’t try to go around that – he makes it part of the story. And then, right when you think it’s just a sidestep, he merges everything back together again, like an unexpected fist in your face. See what you think.
July 2, 2016
**Thank you to the author and the good people at Warren Adler’s Book Review Rewards club for the complimentary copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review**
The story follows the investigation into the death of a sweet woman who has been involved in a series of affairs with the most powerful men in Washington. Her death appears to be a suicide initially, but Fiona suspects otherwise the more she looks into the circumstances surrounding her final plunge off a bridge.
I found Dorothy, the victim, enchanting and lovely. This was due in part to the vocal talents of Lillian Yves, the narrator. She brings sweetness to an already lovely character and keeps you gripped, I was devastated to know from the beginning that Dorothy was destined to die and that there was nothing to be done.
Fiona self-identifies with the victim on a certain level and seems to take the opportunity to completely over analyse her own relationships and bask in self pity. Dorothy is the person to be pitied here! I found myself getting very frustrated with Fiona as a character, allowing her personal feelings to constantly get in the way of her work.
Lillian Yves brought each character to life in this book, with their own voice and subtlety. My interest was held right from the beginning and kept me hooked until the end, I would definitely like to listen to more of her work in future!
If you’re a fan of mystery novel, especially those with a political slant, this is the book for you. If you do fancy have a read of this story, I would personally champion the audio version!
The story follows the investigation into the death of a sweet woman who has been involved in a series of affairs with the most powerful men in Washington. Her death appears to be a suicide initially, but Fiona suspects otherwise the more she looks into the circumstances surrounding her final plunge off a bridge.
I found Dorothy, the victim, enchanting and lovely. This was due in part to the vocal talents of Lillian Yves, the narrator. She brings sweetness to an already lovely character and keeps you gripped, I was devastated to know from the beginning that Dorothy was destined to die and that there was nothing to be done.
Fiona self-identifies with the victim on a certain level and seems to take the opportunity to completely over analyse her own relationships and bask in self pity. Dorothy is the person to be pitied here! I found myself getting very frustrated with Fiona as a character, allowing her personal feelings to constantly get in the way of her work.
Lillian Yves brought each character to life in this book, with their own voice and subtlety. My interest was held right from the beginning and kept me hooked until the end, I would definitely like to listen to more of her work in future!
If you’re a fan of mystery novel, especially those with a political slant, this is the book for you. If you do fancy have a read of this story, I would personally champion the audio version!
April 20, 2011
Good "Who Done It book".
April 12, 2016
An entertaining, lurid and sensationalist read. Some great character development but also some simplistic, dated, interpretations of motivation. Fits the genre.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews